New Jams: Hedgehog’s Sun Fun Gun

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New Jams: Hedgehog’s Sun Fun Gun
By Josh, 2012年 3月 22日
I’ve spun through Hedgehog‘s newest long player a few times now and one word comes repeatedly to mind: mature. The band made some bold moves on last year’s DEstroy meMOries demo and those moves have been played out to their logical conclusion on Sun Fun Gun. You’ll still find nods to their past moments of indie pop perfection — they include a new version of their hit “24 Hour Rock Party” here, which they’ve renamed “You Guys Rock D22 I Was There Man”… awesome — but the whole package is way rougher around the edges and, in the best possible sense, older. Few Beijing bands have passed the three LP mark and managed to maintain a wide level of interest. This new Hedgehog slab may alienate their pop base, but it may also manage to compel some of their fans to grow along with them.

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And as far as I’m concerned, this is some of their best work yet. Above stream two of the album’s noisier tracks. “The Loneliest Day” features Yan Yulong‘s signature viola squall, and “The Burning Sun in the Morning” has lyrics and melodies I think but they’re encrypted in a blissful wall of “psychedelic synth attempt” (their words). Keep your eyes peeled for a Caoker video of the latter soon.
The album will be available at your local (Chinese) record store starting on April 5th. And Beijingers can check out Hedgehog’s official album release party on Saturday June 16 @ Yugong Yishan.